Close call, but Thomas finally gets drafted by Sacramento with final pick

And on Thursday, he had to wait through 59 picks to finally hear his name called.

But just when it looked as if Thomas was going to regret his decision to leave the Washington Huskies a year early, he was finally drafted with the 60th and final pick by the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

Mr. Irrelevent, maybe. But you’ve got to figure Thomas will take it, especially considering the embarrassment that would have come with leaving school early and failing to get drafted.

And the Kings have now drafted three Huskies players in the last five years. They also selected Spencer Hawes in 2007 and Jon Brockman in 2009. Both have since been traded.

Even though every indication from Thomas leading up to the draft was that he was certain he’d be drafted, it remains a bit of an upset that he was taken over players like David Lighty and Malcolm Thomas, both of whom were generally regarded as being better prospects than the 5-foot-9 point guard.

Thomas joins a backcourt that will include Tyreke Evans and fellow 2011 draftee Jimmer Fredette, who was selected 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded to the Kings.